21 February 2024, 17:50
Public prosecutor requests 3.5 years of imprisonment for Nikita Zhuravel, accused of burning Koran
A public prosecutor has requested the Visaitovsky District Court of Grozny to find Nikita Zhuravel, who burned the Koran, guilty of violating the right to religion and hooliganism and sentence him to three years and six months of imprisonment in a penal colony. That has been reported by the “Chechnya Segodnya” (Chechnya Today) news agency with reference to public prosecutor Milana Baitaeva.
The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on February 15, human rights defenders noted that Nikita Zhuravel’s testimony should be questioned given the conditions in Chechnya. Lawyers emphasized that Nikita Zhuravel could confess to earn the court’s leniency, but his words that he did not act alone could result in re-classification of the criminal case under tougher article.
The “Caucasian Knot” has also reported that in September 2023, Ramzan Kadyrov posted on the Internet a video of his son Adam Kadyrov beating Nikita Zhuravel in a SIZO (pre-trial prison). The leader of Chechnya praised his son for the beating.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 20, 2024 at 11:52 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: Caucasian Knot
